“Do Not pick flowers” board in An Phu to protect the resources provided by the flowering plants to restore biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Ecological engineering is a process to restore biodiversity, ecosystem services and resilience to rice production systems to reduce vulnerability to pest otbreaks. There are two main components in ecological engineering: landscape modification to increase biodiversity and minimizing disruptions by pesticides that reduce biodiversity. In Chinese philosophy this is the act of balancing the “yin” and “yang” forces. Pest outbreaks are the result of imbalance favoring the “yin” forces thus inducing the abnormal developments of insects with r-strategies, like the planthoppers.

Ecosystem services are benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems and in rice cultivation, a vital service they provide is, of course, provisioning of rice, fish, honey and fruits. In addition rice ecosystems also provide regulatory services, like pollination and biological control, as well as cultural services, like aesthetic , educational, recreation and ecotourism values. Just as important are the supporting services such as soil enhancement, where soil augmentation techniques like increasing microbial biodiversity, might be beneficial (Read: Millennium Assessment Report 2005). Recently a new project called LEGATO was launched to assess these values, both monetary and non monetary, that rice ecosystems in Asia are providing to communities.

In An Giang the ecological engineering initiative (Cong Nghe Sihn Thai) was launched in March 2011, followed by upscaling activities. In many villages flowers grown along the bunds were constantly being picked by passerby for home decoration. To prevent flower poaching so as to protect both the cultural and regulatory services, farmers in An Phu put up a “Do Not Pick Flowers” sign board.

In addition, negotiations between IRRI, TV Vinh Long and the Southern Regional Plant Protection Center have been initiated to develop a TV drama series using entertainment education principles. Building on previous success in using radio soap opera, this new series on “Cong Nghe Sinh Thai TV” will provide details on ecosystem services from rice fields and will include provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services that will be written into soap opera dialogues. Entertainment education has also been used successfully in social change programs on HIV/AIDS prevention, birth control and domestic violence to cultivate new social norms. The main aim of the new TV series is to cultivate new norms in valuing and appreciating biodiversity, ecosystem services and the environment. The first episode was broadcast over TV Vinh Long in March 2011.

First launched by the vice minister, Dr Bui Ba Bong, on September 10, 2010, ecological engineering methods have now spread to several other provinces. In March 2011 a large campaign was launched by the vice chairman where he coined the slogan Ruong Lua Bo Hoa (rice fields with flowers on bunds). Vinh Long province developed a TV video that was broadcast all over the Mekong. They are now planning to develop another 10 episodes for broadcast.

Campaign materials

The term “Cong Nhe Sinh Thai” is now gaining popularity among rice farmers and the agricultural sector with the ecological engineering concepts explained in local newspaper articles by Professor Nguyen Van Huynh and the increased campaign activities by the provincial governments. To further enhance awareness of “Cong Nhe Sinh Thai” the Southern Plant Protection Center is initiated a program with women organizations to increase women participation which will be launched on March 8, 2012 on “International Women’s Day”.

Flowering plants to serve a nectar and shelter resources are now transforming the rural landscapes in many districts in the Mekong Delta

Ecological engineering has now been launched in Tieng Giang, An Giang, Vinh Long, Can Tho, Ben Tre, Long An and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, covering well over 1,200 ha and involving more than 1,300 farmers. In ecological engineering fields, parasitoid and natural enemy densities increased, farmers reduced their insecticide inputs by about 50% and enjoy similar or even higher yields. The reduced insecticide inputs has increased farmer income by about US$ 45 to 145 per ha per season (from 900,000VND to 2,900,000 VND).

In ecological engineering fields, the density of natural enemies increased

In addition, biological control ecosystem services have been restored as indicated by the increase in natural enemies. In particular the mirid bug, Cyrthorhinus , was significantly higher in ecological engineering fields. Mirid bugs are important predators of planthopper eggs embedded in the rice sheath tissues. Similar observations were also obtained in Tien Giang, Thailand and China.

A seedbed within a partial cleared field in the village of Wedi in Klaten that has already been seriously infected by virus. Virtually all the rice fields in the vicinity of this seedbed were infected with virus.

The three Districts (kabupaten) of Klaten, Boyolali and Sukoharjo form a single rice growing area. They constitute one of the most productive ‘rice baskets’ in all of Central Java with average rice production over 6 tons per hectare. A majority of these three districts is planted to rice three times a year, giving them a total annual planting area of well over 150,000 hectare.

Any serious threat to rice production in these districts can have a significant effect on Java’s production. This is what has been occurring with the continuing infestation of brown planthopper since the initial outbreak in Juwiring subdistrict in Klaten in the 1st planting season of 2009

By 2010, this hopper infestation had engulfed the neighbouring districts of Sukoharjo and Boyolali (see previous report). Crop losses in Sukoharjo exceeded those in Klaten and Boyolali. Sukoharjo thus became – and continues to be – the epicentre of a continuing outbreak.

It took until the second planting season of 2010 before serious infestations of virus began. These infestations were greater in Sukoharjo than in Klaten while there was initially only light infestation in Boyolali.

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By the second planting season of this year, virus infestations have increased to the point that they encompass a greater area of Klaten and Boyolali than the total area of local hopperburn whereas in Sukoharjo, there is still a greater area of hopperburn than virus infestation. However in both Sukoharjo and Boyolali, actual crop losses due to virus exceed losses to hopperburn.

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In all three districts, virus infestation is a combination of grassy stunt virus (kerdil rumput) and ragged stunt virus (kerdil hampa), which is also described locally as ‘K.B.’, the initials for ‘family planning’ because the rice panicles are empty of grain).

Some farmers in the Klaten-Boyolali-Sukoharjo area are aware of the connection between the brown planthopper and virus infection. Many others, however, attribute infection to the soil itself or to recent weather conditions. Having been taught for decades that pesticides are ‘medicine (obat),’ farmers, even those who understand the cause of the virus, generally try to ‘cure’ their plants. They do this by increasing both fertilizer and pesticides. They often add both herbicides and fungicides to this mix.

When these efforts fail and without a proper understanding of the relation between the brown planthopper and subsequent infection, they just abandon their infected fields. Farmers rarely appreciate the need for complete eradication, nor after repeated crop failure, do they have the financial capacity to carry out eradication.

In cases of virus infection, the recommended policy is immediate eradication. This is one of the strong recommendations proposed for the entire Surakarta region in March 2011 as part of its RTL (Rencana Tindak Lanjut) strategy for dealing with the brown planthopper infestation.

In practice, however, without adequate resources and without a proper understanding of the advantages of eradication, farmers attempt to glean what grain they can from their infected fields and then sell the remaining stubble for cattle feed. This stubble can be transported well beyond the local area to neighbouring districts carrying with it remnant hoppers and their eggs.

Selling and transporting rice stubble from infected fields, especially when the incidence of virus is high as in the Klaten-Boyolali-Sukoharjo area at present, is a potent means of spreading and thus perpetuating virus infestation.

Harvesting a field for its stubble after virus infection does not necessarily clear a field. Remnant hopper populations can and frequently do remain in these fields. Often such fields are allowed to stand idle for a period before a portion of the field is made into a new seedbed for the next season’s planting. Where seed beds are established in partially cleared fields or in close proximity to such fields, the possibilities of virus infection are significantly increased. Evidence of virus can begin to occur in the seedbed itself but more often, it appears in the early stages of rice plant growth after transplanting. A high percentage of fields become infected from their own seedbeds.

Harvesters in Boyolali clearing a virus-infected field of its stubble and loading this stubble on a truck to be transported for sale as animal feed in the Gunung Kidul area of Yogyakarta.

A seedbed within a partial cleared field in the village of Wedi in Klaten that has already been seriously infected by virus. Virtually all the rice fields in the vicinity of this seedbed were infected with virus.

Farmers’ understanding is essential to the management of brown planthopper infestation. The provision of appropriate advice and the need for its dissemination is paramount in overcoming the present outbreak. Enhancing farmers’ knowledge and understanding is vital for the future.

In July and August 2011 the Rice Department intensifies the upscaling of ecological engineering methods by initiating a series of launching events, training courses and field days. These methods entail increase floral diversity in the rice landscapes and reducing early season insecticide use (especially to stop the use of abamectin and cypermethrin) which disrupts ecosystem services. In Angthong province 600 farmers attended the field day and training program on ecological engineering and observed rice fields surrounded by yellow flowers. In provinces of Nakhon Nayok and Chacheongsao more than 600 farmers and students attended the event. In each of these events, leaflets were distributed and exhibition booths were set up to demonstrate ecological engineering methods and to describe the disruption effects of insecticides and planthopper outbreaks when released from natural control. Discussions on various topics, like the ecology of planthoppers and why they outbreak, the principles of ecological engineering and how they can be used to build biological control services to protect rice from planthopper invaders were also held in these one day events.

The upscaling activities will continue throughout the central plains in Pitsanuluk, Pathum Tani and Chainat through the season. Meanwhile brown planthopper outbreaks are now at its minimum with only small isolated patches of plants infected with virus or with high hopper densities.